England Sevens All Time Top Try Scorer

Dan Norton

Twitter: @dan_norton4

Instagram: @dan_norton4

Website: www.dannorton.co.uk

7:30 Alarm goes off! probably the worst part of the day for me, even with a young 1 year old I'm still not a morning person. Before breakfast we have to record our heart rate and input into our sevens questionnaire on our team app. We rate out of 10 body soreness, sleep etc. all this is then pinged to our S&C and medical staff who all monitor how we are handling the training stress loads and any other issues we may have picked up over night.

7:40 Breakfast is an important meal for me as people say it fuels me for the day but it also helps me turn from a morning ogre back to a normal person. I also hate dry porridge so I weigh out my porridge oats and muesli and milk and as time is of the essence I microwave it all. This gives me just enough time to make a Matcha green tea and prepare my fresh berries. Once finished i have a mixed protein shake with both carbs and protein grab my stuff and I'm out the door. However, if a lie in is more appealing I will grab my GetBuzzing Banana bar and hit the road!

8:45 Arrive for training, I'm generally the last one into training. I head to the physio room and get on the foam rollers mainly to loosen off my back and stretch off hamstrings, hip flexors and any areas that may be tight pre training. Also its a good opportunity to catch up on the gossip and to abuse any of the boys.

9:00 We have a meeting pre training reviewing previous sessions and aims for the current session that morning. This lasts anywhere from 10 mins up to around 30 mins.

9:30 Post meeting, change and head out together. Sessions last around 60-90 minutes normally building in intensity and ending in game specific 7 V 7.  The S&C staff love once the session is finishing to spring the surprise of extra fitness (especially in pre season) which can last around 10-15 mins

11:00 Shower post rugby and changed for lunch. Grab a Date and Seed GetBuzzing bar. With the short turn around between rugby and lunch it's a good opportunity to replenish my energy stores before weights.

11:30 Lunch, this is probably the best bit of the day. The Lensbury where we are based put on a grand feast for us all. Theres normally soup with a wide range of cold salad and meats followed by hot food. Hot food consists of two protein sources and carbs and vegetables which change everyday. To finish it off we have fruit and yoghurt with granola. All this is buffet style and you grab what you want (with in reason) if some boys are taking to much food they are rightly heckled out of the room but what comes around goes around!

Post lunch there is  the opportunity to grab treatment off the medical team if you need it. The coaches are around if you want to talk to them regarding training or playing or they may grab you. I normally head off to the coffee area where we have soft chairs and have a tea and play cards with some of the boys which get very competitive!

1:30 Gym, at twickenham stadium. We take for granted what is an iconic stadium but its pretty special walking in and around the stadium when no-one is there and up through the tunnel into the gym. Gym starts with 15 mins of personal pre-hab set out by the S&C and Physio for injury prevention or to strengthen any weak areas. For me i do a lot of work round strengthening lower limb (Ankle, calf and knee) which translates into my speed work.

1:45 Lift; We each have bespoke weights program. At the moment my program is geared towards power and speed of movement for both upper and lower body.

3:30 Post weights, a GetBuzzing Cherry Protein bar, a shower and rush to beat the evening traffic!

4:15  Arrive home, Normally I will get home and walk the dogs quickly for 30 minutes and then  spend some time with my young son and give my partner a much needed break. I will then try and sneak away and have my snack pot from the left over lunch i made up at the Lensbury. Then I just chill out and enjoy being with my family and switch off from rugby.